Did a jump with a young fellow yesterday. He was very aware of what was going on, perfect arch, head back at exit etc. But he really surprised me right after the landing by telling me "The left end cells of the canopy weren't fully inflated right after deployment - is that normal?" He hasn't jumped before. So I commented him.

Another one: I usually tell passengers "just try to kick my bum with your heels" to give them an idea of a nice arch when we practise it on the ground. I stopped adding "you won't manage to, however" two weeks ago when a young girl managed to Same happened today when I had the pleasure to have a (female) ballet dancer as my passenger. She did such a perfect arch, she kicked ass... literally! She also (instinctively) moved her shoulders to support me doing a 360 during drogue fall and though she was such a petite girl she pulled down the toggles like a hard working craftsmen. That was a moment after which one longs to say "Stop, grab a beer and enjoy the day ... there's nothing at the horizon to top that perfect ride."

Don't get me wrong: I enjoy each and every tandem jump. All of my passengers forked out a lotta money or their friends and family did, so they deserve being treated with respect and given the best you can do. And everyone has the right to be less flexible, gravitationally challenged (i. e. "plump" or "well-fed" confused, to go foetal whatever, you never know. It's their first freefall experience, so they are entitled to be "through the wind" as we put it in German. It's that way and good preparation etc helps a lot and both enjoy the ride. There hasn't been a single passenger I didn't like and wanted to get rid of ASAP. Hope that doesn't sound too pompous

It's just that I enjoy these "perfect moments" mentioned above even more.

I once filmed a girl who, while the plane was diving right after exit, actually waved back at the pilot who was waving at all of us! She then proveded to be totally aware during the entire dive, and managed to find me again after looking up at the opening canopy to give me a thumbs up. Some people should just go skydive themselves, fast

Yes, I noticed if you keep ground instruction and training to the key points and repeat them several times your students are quite focused and know what to do resulting in an indeed "surprisingly good performance"

I often tell my passengers to smile for the camera-now, two weeks ago, I told a girl who was getting a bit nervous on the ride up that she should grab the cameraman's nose if he comes close enough, just to loosen her up a bit.

The look on his face when she actually did it in freefall was absolutely priceless!!

Just a thought: sometimes when you tell a tandem student to put their feet on your butt, it makes it hard to transition them to solo because of a bad habit being formed. If they do several training tandems it develops the wrong muscle memory. Not critisizing at all just trying to help out the affi who gets the student and has to take them on a solo freefall. Good luck BS

I have a little bit of a unique story that might be interesting to some so here goes. My first tandem after the certification course. My student is in his early 30s and of average weight/height. I gear him up and take him to the mock up and train. I ask him if he has any questions. You bet ya. What if the chute doesn't open. Ok, I tell him about the reserve and what I want him to do if we need to cutaway. He acted like, ok no big deal. Well, as fate would have it we had great jump but had a tension knot that made the canopy not controllable, landable, etc. I start telling the guy we're going to have to cutaway so...... right there in mid sentence the guy puts his legs back and crosses his arms and grabs his harness just like he's ready for exit and says "ok." I take care of business and we land. This guy was so stoked he wanted to do it again. Another cutaway that is. 2 weeks later he started AFF. I must say it was nice to have had someone who was this heads up.

I have a little bit of a unique story that might be interesting to some so here goes. My first tandem after the certification course. My student is in his early 30s and of average weight/height. I gear him up and take him to the mock up and train. I ask him if he has any questions. You bet ya. What if the chute doesn't open. Ok, I tell him about the reserve and what I want him to do if we need to cutaway. He acted like, ok no big deal. Well, as fate would have it we had great jump but had a tension knot that made the canopy not controllable, landable, etc. I start telling the guy we're going to have to cutaway so...... right there in mid sentence the guy puts his legs back and crosses his arms and grabs his harness just like he's ready for exit and says "ok." I take care of business and we land. This guy was so stoked he wanted to do it again. Another cutaway that is. 2 weeks later he started AFF. I must say it was nice to have had someone who was this heads up.

Please bear with me, I sometimes have problems understanding certain terms/sentences. You are writing that the passenger experienced another cutaway in his 2nd tandem jump? If so, he's really a tough guy to list up for AFF

A colleague of mine had a few tandem cutaways amongst his 1000+ tandem jumps so far. He told me that when he discovers the sh*t hit the fan he usually asks "Liked the freefall? - Yeah? Well, then let's do it again, ARCH..."

Please bear with me, I sometimes have problems understanding certain terms/sentences. You are writing that the passenger experienced another cutaway in his 2nd tandem jump? If so, he's really a tough guy to list up for AFF

A colleague of mine had a few tandem cutaways amongst his 1000+ tandem jumps so far. He told me that when he discovers the sh*t hit the fan he usually asks "Liked the freefall? - Yeah? Well, then let's do it again, ARCH..."

Had a guy yesterday who was very interested and nice to talk to. After the canopy had opened and I had loosened the laterals(*) he said "I'm gonna slide the leg straps towards my knees". I usually have to tell them.

(*) Laterals to be re-attached after you loosen them, at least in Germany.

A few years ago made a tandem at the Ranch NY. Oct warm fall day at sunset, long spot towards the mountain. Peak leaves, PERFECT! I had a lady that said this is beautiful etc etc, and quiet. I said you think this is quiet, here. I went into deep brakes. She said this is so beautiful that I have to sing, I thought Oh Gawd here we go, thinking of someone in the shower, But I said hey it's your jump, sing. She sang the opening to the sound of music "when the hills are alive" When I was a kid that was one of my favorite movies. She was a professional opera singer. I couldn't believe it, I got teared up. One of my most memorable jumps. I should have been paying her. Surprises aren't always bad.

Thanks for sharing this story, very interesting. I also like jumps late in the afternoon and do not really mind a long spot (as long as there isn't another pax already waiting aground for the next lift up, AKA "double strike") which allows for long and "deep" intake of scenery etc. Now and then even a hawk (one time even a buzzard) flies nearby (and probably mutters about them flying monsters scaring away all the prey) Moments that tell you it should be a hobby first and to remind you to keep up the fun...

The tandem passenger in THIS VIDEO... It was her 1st tandem. I gave her my 2nd alti so I could check if it was still working properly after a couple of water jumps... I didn't explain her what to do, but each time I checked MY alti, she automatically put "hers" just under to compare. Also when I pointed to her the golf almost under us (she is a golf player), she pointed in another direction, so I turned, and she pointed the golf course where she plays (15km away) Plus she is super cute, and now she is a pilot

It's funny how a lot of these responses are of students who actually did what they were told to do- that IS surprising!!!

I was surprised when one of my tandem student came back the following weekend and gave me a tip- and then asked me out! He was way too old for me and I wasn't single at the time so I had to turn him down.

This thread is making me miss doing tandems! I had to give it up because of an injury and they were hard work but the enjoyment of the students was always worth it.

Also had an AFF student come up to me at the DZ, say "Hi, thanks for what you did"... I actually couldn't remember immediately who he was... He then reminded me that I was his TI for his 1st jump the previous year in a remote DZ. 4 years later he is still jumping and it is always nice to see him around. I do believe that considering the passengers as potential future students (giving them "adult" explanations, explaining a bit "how it works" under canopy and such) does often give them a better experience than "just the ride of a lifetime"